Power Rangers Decade
by Shaun Garin
Summary: It Could Always Be Worse Universe. 9 Worlds. 9 Kamen Riders. 4 Rangers. 1 Magic Mirror. 1 Passing By Kamen Rider. These stories intertwine. Destroy everything, unite everything. A decade has passed, now it's time for the Final Ride.
1. Ride 01: Pink Advent Nanoha

9 Worlds. 9 Kamen Riders. 4 Rangers. One Magic Mirror. One Passing By Kamen Rider. These stories intertwine into a history of worlds. Destroy everything, unite everything. A decade has passed, now it's time for the Final Ride.

* * *

Power Rangers: Decade

Written by Shaun Garin

* * *

Self, when you see a magic mirror in the middle of the road, never EVER pick it up. And what did you do? YOU PICKED IT UP!

This was Vivio's thoughts as she careened through space and time, rushing further and further into wherever the hell this mirror was sending her. Faster and faster she flew until with a loud banging noise, she landed.

Spitting up gravel, she groaned and rolled over onto her back. It was evening and in the middle of a city. "Oh man," groaned Vivio as she sat up, holding her head. The mirror was still gripped in her hand and thankfully not broken. After all, everyone knew that magic mirrors were the bane of existence.

"You really put your foot into it this time Vivio," she groaned to herself, pulling out the Riot Morpher and keying in a frequency. "SPD this is Vivio Hart, calling in on all frequencies, can you read me?"

Static.

"SPD this is Vivio Hart, can you read me? I'm setting up a beacon for retrieval. No doubt Mom's freaking on me by now." With a disgusted noise, she shut off her Morpher. "Damnit, I'm out of range. Must be on an undocumented world."

"Help me…!"

Vivio startled. Wait, voices in her head? That wasn't hers?

"Help me, someone…! Anyone who can lend me your power, please…!"

"Aw man, here we go again." Cursing her hero complex, Vivio bolted into the city, looking for the source of it.

* * *

The source of the voice said to be a very familiar ferret as Vivio ran up to it, but before she could do anything about it, a group of girls came around the corner and Vivio bolted into the trees, her white-rimmed SPD uniform standing out.

She blinked. "Suzuka, Arisa and… Nanoha. Huh. Am I in another reality again? I must be if there's Yuuno there and… wait, this isn't Reefside…"

As she pondered over the situation, the girls had taken Yuuno and Vivio followed in a mostly stealthy-like manner.

* * *

Vivio had gotten a few snippets of conversation from the others. This was Unimari City, and it was in Japan. It was definitely another world and Nanoha didn't seem to know about her magic yet. Strike one for being in her same universe.

Strike two was the giant dustbunny that exploded through the wall when Vivio was catching a few z's on the roof of the clinic, and the subsequent chase into the rest of the city. That was kind of frustrating. Vivio was about to step in when Nanoha transformed her barrier jacket with the longest route she had ever heard in her life. "Lyrical Magical," snickered Vivio. "Whatever happened to SPD Emergency?"

Looking at herself, she decided she needed to take some… liberties with the whole situation.

* * *

Hacking into the school records and making a false paper trail was child's play, courtesy of Kat Manx's training in an alien setting. The transformation magic, not so much, but she managed to distill the magical power into a nice concentrated form.

As such, Vivio Hart, an exchange student from America was attending Nanoha's class, much to her chargin. Sacred Heart, her plushie was hiding in her bag, the hybrid device playing the part of a plush toy.

Rule number one when you went to another time and/or place, blend in. And Vivio was a mistress of blending in. Until she was rescued, there was no reason for her to stand out, right?

* * *

"Vivio-chan, do you want to come with us to Nanoha-chan's family shop?" inquired Suzuka of the new student.

"Hmm? Well sure, I could do that," said Vivio, clearly surprised at the offer.

As the girls headed home, Arisa asked her all sorts of questions. "Where are you from in America?" inquired Arisa.

"Reefside, a small town in California," said Vivio.

"Oh I see. You speak Japanese very well," said Suzuka, clearly impressed.

Vivio had to blush. Japanese was her POOREST language in the world. It was by virtue that the Power acted as a universal translator. "Ah, well I have a friend who is from Japan."

"Oh?" said Nanoha and Vivio realized she blundered into problems. "Like who?"

"Ah, Nancy, Alicia and Sarah," said Vivio, quickly adding, "Their parents are both American and Japanese."

"That would explain the western names," said Suzuka and Vivio let out a breath she hadn't realized she was holding in.

"Where are you staying for the time being?" inquired Nanoha.

ERK!

"Um… nowhere really… just arrived today…"

The girls shared an aghast look. "You don't know? That's terrible! What about your parents?"

"Um…"

Figuring Vivio's fidgeting for something different, Arisa hugged her. "You poor girl, we didn't know! Come on, we'll let you stay with us!"

"That's right! My home is your home!" added Suzuka.

"Mmm!" exclaimed Nanoha.

This is the worst! screamed Vivio's inner monologue. What else could possibly go wrong?

* * *

"AH! After ten thousand years I'm free! It's time to conquer earth!"

* * *

Yuuno was certain there was something magical about the new girl. Not only had she moved like a trained warrior, she exuded a force that seemed like Power to him. Power with a capital P, something he was unfamiliar with.

His suspicions were confirmed when the girl ran out the house when a honest-to-god MONSTER ATTACK happened; a squadron of foot soldiers, gray with alien clay-like faces were bubbling all over the attack zone. Nanoha obviously wanted to help but they were all over the place.

Following Vivio from a distance, he gasped as the girl grew up in a flash of light and took on the foot soldiers with her bare hands and feet, dressed in some kind of uniform.

* * *

Putties. They had been briefed on their existence in SPD but this was the first time that Vivio had ever fought them before.

Why Putties? Shouldn't have Zordon called his Rangers by now? Why here and not in Angel Grove? thought Vivio as she flipped one over her shoulder and it shattered on the ground with a bubbling hiss.

"EEEK!" exclaimed an innocent civilian as she was manhandled by the Putties. Said innocent was Suzuka and Vivio groaned. "Oh, damnit!"

With a textbook flying kick, she booted it in the head as she turned to Suzuka. "Go, run!"

"Vivio?"

Vivio winced. "Now's not the time for this! RUN!"

"Nowhere to run, nowhere to hide!" gloated the vaguely winged simian in golden armor. "This world will belong to Rita Repulsa!"

"Oh great, Goldar," groaned Vivio. She turned to the sky and yelled, "Zordon! If you can hear me, make with the defenders of the world by now!"

No answer. And Goldar gloated, "It's no use human! Calling to Zordon of Eltare for help isn't going to get a reply!"

"We'll see about that then," said Vivio as she snapped out her Riot Morpher. "Sacred Heart!"

[integrating~!] chimed the bunny plushie as it wrapped itself around the morpher. [setup complete!]

"SPD RIOT ENFORCER!" Vivio thrust out her hand and unleashed a blast of power that protected her from the attackers. In a shower of light, Vivio drew her bladed lance and spun it around. "SPD Riot 5 White Ranger!"

"Uh oh," said Goldar. A Power Ranger. With a capital P.

This could be bad.

"SPD Riot Blaster!" The plushie latched onto the front of the powerful looking axe which transformed into a gun.

Yeah, it would hurt a lot.

"FIRE!"

Goldar teleported out as the Putties were blown to hell.

Though who shoots bunny plushies at the opponent? Obviously someone with a demented mind.

* * *

"Well it could have been a whole lot worse," said Nanoha as Vivio banged her head on the table of the Midoriya café table. Suzuka was patting the older girl on the back and Arisa had a look akin to worship. "What were those things again?"

"Putties," said Vivio. "But what I don't get is why they're here, in Japan. They should be attacking Angel Grove."

"That could be a matter of geography," said Miyuki, spreading down a map of California. "Look, none of those cities you mentioned exist. No Angel Grove, no Reefside, no nothing."

Vivio banged her head on the table again.

* * *

"So something you want to tell us, Nanoha-chan?" asked Arisa in that sugary saccharine tone of hers.

"ERK! What do you mean?" blushed Nanoha. "There's nothing going on!"

"You transformed in front of me to protect me," said Arisa and Vivio realized that was where Nanoha and Arisa was in the whole mess. "Magical Girl Nanoha, I like it!"

"Mou…!"

"Well if it helps, she's one in my world?" said Vivio.

"Yeah, but still!" exclaimed Nanoha.

"Well we'll just have to wait for the next Jewel Seed to reveal itself," said Yuuno, having come out of the woodwork. "But soon the TSAB will be here with questions."

"And Fate Testarossa," said Vivio, earning looks from the others. "What, you didn't think that you were the ONLY one who had an eye on those did you Yuuno? Dad took care of her in our world, and she's my sister."

"I thought your name was Vivio Hart?" asked Suzuka.

"Yeah, Vivio Hart Testarossa Oliver." She shrugged. "My family's kind of weird like that." She frowned. "But what I don't get is why Zordon wasn't here."

"Maybe the old sage doesn't exist here?" inquired Arisa.

"Maybe…" Vivio looked over into the mountains. "Suzuka, how long do you think it would take to search for a temple in the middle of the mountains?"

"Hmm, two, three days tops?"

"Can you do it for me? I'd like to check a theory."

* * *

Nanoha fought a giant kitty. It was par for the course.

She also got her butt kicked by Fate. Vivio found this particularly funny. Especially when Nanoha said she had "amazing gentle eyes."

* * *

"Found something here," said Suzuka three days later. "It's close to the place we're going on vacation for."

"Well, field trip. Pack your bags, swimsuits and be sure to hold onto your panties," said Vivio, folding her arms across her ample bosom, something all three girls thought was incredibly unfair for a girl to be hiding under that Lolita body of hers. "When we go on vacation, magical girls get attacked. It's in the handbook."

"Sure they will," teased Arisa. "Sure they will."

"Fine, don't believe me. I'm going to be hiking. Try not to blow up anything important while I'm gone."

* * *

Vivio pulled herself up over the ledge as she found herself standing in front of the Command Center. "Just like the map said," said Vivio.

The distant crackle of thunder alerted her to a battle in the valley below and she rolled her eyes. "Told them. But does anyone listen to the genre savvy? Noooooo."

Pushing the doors open which opened without the use of a Power Coin, Vivio frowned as she stepped into the dark room. "Zordon? Alpha?"

Panning a flashlight around, she scowled at the turned-off Alpha. "C'mon, let's get you back on your feet…"

* * *

"Aiyiyiyiyiyi! Zordon, what happened?" asked Alpha as he was reactivated, powered and informed of the attack.

"An evil energy surge knocked all of our systems offline," reported Zordon, the old sage looking apologetic about the whole thing. "Apparently Rita thought ahead, and prevented us from acting in on time. Thank you for your aid, young Ranger."

"All in the days work for SPD," said Vivio. "You need to find your five Rangers stat. But I gotta ask, whatever happened to Angel Grove?"

"The city burnt to the ground during the frontier age," said Zordon, "Due a massive fire. I relocated to the second best location, and set up command here outside of a ley nexus."

"Here in Japan. Makes sense. And it would explain why I was able to access the Grid here too," said Vivio. "Who did you have in mind?"

* * *

Kyouya wasn't too certain about the whole sentai thing but it didn't stop him from raising the Morpher to the sky and calling on the power of the Tyrannosaurus when the next battle began. Miyuki looked great in yellow though.

Rounding out their group were two of their live-ins: Akira Joshima and Feng Lianfei, the combat waitresses of the Midoriya, and Shinobu Tsukimura in pink, black and blue respectively. Vivio stood to the side, smug as their temporary mentor.

"You guys looked good out there," said Vivio honestly as they returned from their first battle."

As Zordon laid out the rules of Ranger combat, Vivio checked her watch. Ten days away from home. It was most definitely that SPD had discovered her location.

* * *

"STOP!" exclaimed Chrono as he got between Fate, Arf, Yuuno and Nanoha. "By command of the TSAB you are ordered to stop!"

"You idiot, you don't just stand there, catch them!" berated another familiar and gladly appreciated voice of the older Chrono as he appeared and before Fate and Arf knew it, were judged. "Yo."

"CHRONOOOOOOO~!" exclaimed Vivio, hugging him, much to the shock of the other who was mouthing things about Temporal Disturbances and WTF. "Are you here by yourself? Please tell me you're not. Please tell me you brought ZORDS."

"No, yes and yes, we brought zords," said Chrono placatingly as he hugged his step-sister.

"What's going on here?" exploded the younger Chrono. "You're in direct violation of temporal law!"

"Oh, temporal law can put a sock in it," groused Chrono, rolling his eyes. "Durandal, was I ever this much of a stick in the mud?"

[Nope sir,] chirped the device. [Not since the Seed Incident.]

"THAT is reassuring," said Vivio, rolling her eyes. "So, now what? Do we go to the Garden and kick butt?"

* * *

"Jewel Seeds respond to thoughts and desires," said Chrono. "Everyone clear your minds!"

Without warning, the Jewel Seed popped into the air, earning a curse from Chrono before Nanoha could seal it. "What happened there? Who thought of something? Who was it?"

All eyes went to Vivio who was cringing and trying to sneak away. "Vivio, what did you do?"

"I dunno… it just popped in there," said Vivio weakly. "Something from my childhood just popped into my head, something nothing…"

"DON'T SAY IT!" exclaimed Chrono loudly. Little Chrono blinked.

"Wait, is the ground shaking?" said the little Chrono as they looked up at the giant form stomping through the middle of Unimari.

"Holy puff puffing… VIVIO!"

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry! I didn't mean to conjure up the Stay Puft!"

* * *

"Alright, let's take stock of what we've got here," said Chrono as he and the others sat around the table, the assembled "Midoriya Rangers" as they were dubbed by the younger generation said. "What do we know?"

"First off, we've got a magic mirror that is allowing us to transfer between worlds. The magic mirror seems to have a charge or at least functions when a task is done. The next part of it stems to the fact that we're looking at an uncontrollable dimensional flow following patterns in the grid." Said Carter. "At least that's what the brains are saying. Anyone who follows along the grid will undoubtedly make a rotation but at the same time, it'll be some time before we loop back to our world."

"And that's why they sent us, with the Super Train Megazord," said Yuuno as he drew a pattern across the table. "But with every dimensional travel, the other 9 worlds will recognize us for what we are: invaders."

"It started with Vivio," said Chrono and the girl who summoned the Stay Puft lowered her head in shame. "She was the trigger to all of this. And what's different is that there's someone that they say is acting the same way. We figure the power of the Saint Armor plus the powers embedded into her Device Morpher has opened links to the Morphin Grid upon worlds that haven't tapped into the grid itself, thus causing us to flood to other 9 worlds that are interlinked into this mirror."

"And that would explain the energy flow that is invading this world and the other 9 worlds." Said Chrono. "There are shades to the grid which correspond with these 9 worlds: Blue, Green, Red, Yellow, Black, Gold, Silver, White, Pink, Purple."

"But that's ten colors," said Kyouya with a frown.

"Vivio makes up the White power which gives us the power to shift through worlds," said Chrono. "We followed on what we call a Vapor Trail of Power in laymans terms."

"And with every world, the world itself will respond in kind, developing the opponents needed to be defeated in order to continue, or at least contained with a team of Rangers. It's a balance effect, in part of the effect of the grid itself." Chrono sighed. "Which means we're taking our troubles along with us as we cycle back to our world."

"9 worlds, 10 powers. That seems a little unbalanced," sighed Vivio.

"Ten worlds if you count ours," pointed out Carter.

"Didn't Kotoha say something about someone who was on a journey as well?" said Yuuno with a frown. "About a passing by Kamen Rider?"

"Could be. Could be that our journey will now be intertwined with theirs." Said Chrono. "I'm not a big fan of coincidence. According to the official report filed by Kotoha, they arrived years ago. But with the way magic works, we could be meeting them again on their own journey. Time is NEVER linear with this sort of thing."


	2. Ride 02: Green Advent 2814

Nanoha had a boring day. Get up, admire how saccharinely close her family was, stop a few petty crimes, go to school, visit with her friends, return home, drink from a shaking… glass… of… water…?  
"Hey, what is that anyhow?" asked Miyuki as everyone stared out the windows of the Midoriya.  
"It's… a… giant marshmallow man?" said Shinobu in an uncertain voice.  
Nanoha was halfway out the door when there was a cry from the other side. It was a mixed bag, something that made her pause.  
"Ready?"  
"READY!"  
"Setup Cartridge! SPD Riot Enforcer!"  
"Setup Cartridge! SPD Shadow Ranger!"  
"Lightspeed Rescue!"  
Bursts of light erupted from behind the wall and Nanoha peeked over as best as she could. "Ring-chan, what is that?"  
"Unknown. It appears to have been some sort of photon-intensive variable frequency transformative sequence utilizing unknown– and, I may add, inefficiently vented– high-yield plasmic energies." Ring-chan answered promptly.  
"All right, call out the zords," said the girl in white.  
"… Zords?" said Nanoha, bewildered moments before a train came out of NOWHERE and began to form up.  
She gaped. There was going to be a giant kaiju battle in the middle of HER CITY! Not that that wasn't irregular in Japan, but she made sure this sort of thing only happened in Tokyo! They had the buildings for it!  
She wondered what forms she'd need to fill out for this before the missiles and guns began to fire…

* * *

Shaun Garin Presents… In association with Shadow Crystal Mage…  
It Could Always Be Worse: Vivio's Magical Adventure and Takamachi Nanoha of 2814 Production:

Power Rangers Decade  
Ride 02

* * *

Superman stared at the mess. It was a horrible, ectoplasmic, messy, sticky mess that made him hungry for s'mores cooked over the campfire. And maybe some chocolate syrup. And hotdogs. It was rapidly dissolving, thankfully, but…  
"Um, Green Lantern, you said that these people in brightly colored spandex suits came out of nowhere, summoned a train, formed it into a giant vehicle, did combat, blew it up, and they just… vanished."  
Green Lantern-chan nodded. "Quite inconsiderate of them. Don't they know it's common courtesy to help clean up your own mess? Honestly, what must their parents think?"  
Superman cringed. This wasn't going to look good on anyone's resume. "New local team?"  
"I don't think so, but they gave off this enormously powerful energy source," said Green Lantern-chan. "Ring-chan identified it as some kind of psycho-reactive plasmic-energy, of unknown capacity."  
"What did Raging Heart say about it?"  
"She's, uh, still undergoing repair from what happened," Green Lantern said, wincing was she recalled the damage her device had taken in the battle against those people who'd stolen her, Negi-chan's and Sailor Moon-sama's Linker Cores.  
Superman winced himself. He still had the bruise from the magic croquet mallet.  
"The Pink Phallic Freudian Weapon would probably say, 'I want to shoot with it,'" Ring-chan said as Superman choked and hoped Green Lantern never thought to use a dictionary.

* * *

"Okay, so the mirror diverted our flight course," said Chrono, munching on waffles at the local pancake house, a specialty shop in the area. "The way I see it, we have a few options."  
"Situations like this need to be worked delicately," said Yuuno, shooting a look at Vivio, who cringed. "Stop summoning Stay Pufts!"  
"I can't help it!" whined Vivio. "It's like Gozer invaded my mind!"  
"Stop looking into the trap," warned Carter Grayson, the Senior Ranger chosen for this expedition. "You know it'll never work."  
"What I want to know is, why Stay Puft?" inquired Yuuno, taking a bite of his marshmallow fluff covered pancakes. "Why? Shouldn't you be summoning Godzilla?"  
"The Japanese call him Gojira. And no, I'm raised on Western culture, Yuuno." Vivio savagely stabbed her strawberry. It died a glorious death. "I could have summoned OOZE. Did you want that?"  
"No, by all means, keep summoning the Stay Puft."

* * *

"Eh, I don't see why they're all up in arms about this," groaned Vivio as she and Sacred Heart walked down the road, her hands propped behind her head. "I mean, this can't be too bad, right? Barely any monsters, warriors, demons…"  
She blinked as a familiar form hovered in front of her, dressed in white with green markings on her outfit. Even with the mask, she could tell who she was.  
Eyes met. Instant kinship.  
"Hi," said Nanoha Takamachi, a.k.a. Green Lantern-chan, to Vivio Hart Testarossa Oliver.  
"Hi," said Vivio Hart Testarossa Oliver to Nanoha Takamachi, a.k.a. Green Lantern-chan.  
For a long moment, there wasn't anything. And then Green Lantern-chan smiled brightly. "Adorable bunny plushie!"  
"Thanks. I like your ring," said Vivio honestly.  
Another long pause.  
"You're magical, aren't you?" said Green Lantern-chan after a second.  
"Yep. You too. Though your energies are off. Linker core isn't developed as well."  
Green Lantern-chan blushed. "I can't help it! I'm too busy to train much! So are you from the TSAB? If so, I'll need you to fill out a report."  
"Ah no, not officially." Vivio rubbed her head. "Would you believe I'm just a passing by Power Ranger?"  
Somewhere, Tsukasa Kadoya, Kamen Rider Decade sneezed.  
"Ano… so you're a… Power Ranger? Is that some kind of sentai team? I thought they went out of fashion after magical girls came around?" Green Lantern asked.  
"Yep, it is," said Vivio. "Trust me; it's more glorious than you think. Not much of them around here?"  
Green Lantern was still thinking. "Would you know anything about a giant train that formed into a robot and inconsiderately did not stay to clean up their mess?"  
Vivio opened her mouth – and suddenly the area was filled with grey forms with large Z's on their chests. Vivio stepped in front of the Magical Girl Green Lantern-chan and said, "Putties. Why is it always PUTTIES?"  
The Putties surged forth.  
Vivio exploded into a flurry of athletic violence.  
Green Lantern-chan almost felt bad because a "civilian" was doing all of her work. "I want to move like that…" she said plaintively.  
"Those were Zedd Putties," said Big Chrono, appearing suddenly and folding his arms as Green Lantern-chan stood to the side.  
"Eh? Chrono-kun? How did you get so tall?" Green Lantern exclaimed. "Have you been using those age-change pills Ala Alba told us about?"  
"Um, I'm not actually your universe's Chrono," Big Chrono tried to explain awkwardly. Ah, how was he supposed to explain this to someone without any grounding in Ranger weirdness…?  
"A parallel world or time travel?" Nanoha asked.  
"Oh, ah, the former."  
"Ah, I see. A Code 849822 then. Please fill out all 35 pages of this form in triplicate. I'll need it to file my report on this. Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to try and arrest those things."  
"No point," an older Yuuno said, suddenly appearing on her other side. "They're just mindless attack drones."  
"Ah, so lethal force is perfectly fine to use on them?" Green Lantern said.  
"I suppose…"  
"Ring-chan, mass impale," Green Lantern commanded.  
Vivio blinked as all the Putties suddenly sported big spears through their chest and heads, before exploding into component parts. "Huh," she said as she stood up straight, staring at Green Lantern. "That was kinda… pointy," was all she could come up with.  
Green Lantern shrugged. "Oh, you learn to find the quickest way to stop drones around here. I worked with Mahora once to stop these things they called 'Invaders', and had to develop that when my opponent count exceeded one thousand in the first day."  
They all made a note never to tell their Nanoha about this.  
(Or that Ferret Lantern, ahem, Yuuno Scrya could have such a physique under those tights when he came to the rescue in his red spandex?)  
"We should be careful. If Zedd Putties are here, we should check the moon," said Carter.  
"I wonder if it has a breathable atmosphere," said Vivio thoughtfully.  
"Your moon has a breathable atmosphere?" said Green Lantern-chan, bewildered. Mars, she could figure, but the moon? Wasn't it supposed to be lifeless? She should know, she and Yuuno had blown enough of it for training. What was all on there, a menacing evil looking man with no skin?  
Lord Zedd sneezed.

* * *

"He's going to make a monster out of a trumpet."  
"Cicada."  
"Car."  
CRACLE-THOOM.  
Vivio grinned and the boys paid her. "Told you, stop sign."  
"I am Stopsignhead!" exclaimed the newly christened monster.  
"Nanoha Emerald Smasher!"  
WHOMP went the monster.  
Boom went the monster.  
"Efficient," said Carter, disappointed he couldn't perform his best "I'm a MAN" punch.  
"GRENADE!" exclaimed Vivio as the monster grew.  
Green Lantern-chan looked up. And up. And up. And she almost fell over if she wasn't flying. "Um, this is new…"  
"Get used to it," sighed Yuuno.  
"It's still a grenade, right?" Green Lantern-chan asked.  
"Well, yes, but you should wait for our zords, er, giant robots... why did you just make a giant hand and dentures?"  
"Let's see, to activate grenade, put grenade in your teeth, pull the pin and throw it," Green Lantern read from the internet. "Simple enough."  
BOOM!  
"I wish we could just throw monsters into space so conveniently," Chrono said.  
"We tried that," pointed out Vivio. "Remember the last time we tried?"  
"Oh yeah. Yeah, throwing a gasoline tank monster into the sun wasn't one of Alicia's most brilliant moments," said Carter, shaking his head.  
Ranger Yuuno stared at his counterpart. "What are you WEARING? Is that a dog collar? You're TEN!"  
Lantern Yuuno glared defensively up at his "mou hitori no boku." "How is my outfit any worse than yours? Besides, I'm supposed to be helping Nanoha patrol 1/3600th of the known universe, which is pretty darn big! I don't have time to deal with clothes! What's your excuse?"  
"Hey, fighting monsters and giant monsters on a weekly basis is tough work!" Ranger Yuuno protested.  
"We have to fight Godzilla sized things on a twice a week basis, some nuts are targeting every magical girl in Japan, my partner's intelligent weapons of mass distraction can't seem to get along except when saying, 'Master, LET'S SHOOT IT! MAXIMUM POWER!', I'm behind on all the paperwork my workaholic partner is insisting I file properly, my life span might just be for the next five years, we have to MAKE our own giant robots from scratch if we want any, which is tougher than it looks and mine all look like Astroboy, and to cap it off, everyone, myself unfortunately included, insists on calling me 'Ferret Lantern'. Don't talk to ME about tough!"  
Ranger Yuuno stared. "I've got nothing. Want a hug?"  
"Yes, please."  
Green Lantern looked around. "Come on, I suppose you'd rather not talk to anyone official," she said, "I'm sure the Harlaown's will be willing to let you stay a while. After all, you're practically family. "

* * *

Amy stared at Big Chrono so hard he started to sweat nervously. Abruptly, the girl turned to the staring Little Chrono. "Chrono," she said, voice intense and setting off all sorts of sexual harassment alarms in Big Chrono's head. "Get older. Quick!"  
"Oh, my!" Lindy said, looking at Ranger Yuuno appreciatively and fluffing her hair. "So you're your world's TSAB counterparts? So fascinating. We must talk about that, Yuuno-kun, it sounds absolutely fascinating. Why don't we go to my study for some privacy?"  
Ranger Yuuno gulped nervously, aware of the hostile stares of two sizes of Chrono. "Um, Captain Harlaown–"  
"Oh, please, call me Lindy, Yuuno-kun," she said, smiling like a cougar as her suddenly iron grip dragged him away.  
Little Yuuno blinked. "I'm not that good-looking, am I?" he said.  
"No, you're not," the Chronos chorused.  
Yuuno wasn't sure how to take that.  
Fate stared at Vivio, something like numb horror on her face. "Please tell Yuuno's not your father and I'm not your mother," she said, staring at the mish-mashed-looking girl.  
"What? Of course not!" Vivio exclaimed.  
Fate sighed in relief.

* * *

The explosion ripped through most of the warehouse district as the group was shielded by a handy ring construct of Nanoha's. "Forgot to mention this!" yelled Ranger Yuuno over the din of the explosion that cascaded around them. "Morphin Grid energy interferes with the use of barriers!"  
"You could have told us this sooner!" yelled Nanoha, thinking of the paperwork involved in this little fiasco. What started as one monster had multiplied into ten, and the group had been chasing monsters all around town. She was starting to appreciate how strenuous being part of SPD really was, considering that after the monster went boom, it grew up due to a bigger boom. And if the giant robots weren't cool enough, the fact that in their universe Earth was the most powerful galactic node in the universe said a lot if they had to have 18 generations or more protecting it. "Darn it, this is an actively used business district! Think of the economy! People might lose their jobs!"  
"And that, ladies and gentlemen, is why you do not screw with Carter Grayson," said Chrono smugly as the Ranger came walking out of the smoking ruin, looking none for the worse for wear.  
Little Chrono applauded despite himself. That was the most brilliantly executed "I'm a MAN" punch ever. He had GOT to learn that, if only to get just a little respect around here.  
Carter suddenly found himself with a face full of grim-looking Green Lantern. "You are cleaning this up," Nanoha said in what she probably thought was a voice out of nightmare but sounded more like some loli character's pre-H sequence in an eroge.  
"Oh don't worry about that, that's what the Grid is for," said Vivio smugly as she held out her hand and white magic started to sparkle all over the place.  
"NO!" Green Lantern said as she ringed several brooms, shovels, wheel barrows and dumpsters into existence. "You are going to help clean this up to teach you some responsibility. Or I promise, as a duly appointed freelance law enforcement operative of Japan, that I will arrest you for littering."

* * *

Ferret Lantern, a.k.a. Yuuno Scrya was having a bad day. Not only there had been numerous Ranger-related explosions as they recalibrated their dimensional jumping powers, but also there was now an enemy on the MOON. Nanoha was in favor of arresting this Lord Zedd but it was a given that things had to play out normally. But that wasn't the worst of it as he stormed into the Harlaown apartment-slash-TSAB office, bypassing little Chrono and Amy making out on the couch, and staggering into the room where Vivio was teaching Nanoha, Arf and Fate how to gamble.  
Yuuno, the Ranger one, was already in ferret mode and cleaning up when he looked up and a fuzzy smirk came across his face. "I know that look. It's an 'I had a bad day and I really don't want to talk about it but it's driving me up the wall and—'"  
"I GOT BAKED INTO A GIANT PIZZA!" howled Lantern Yuuno. "I couldn't break out of it! It was like the pizza from hell!"  
Vivio reached over, pulled a slice of pepperoni from his clothing and tasted it. "Monster pepperoni. Yep, he ran into the pizza oven monster."  
"Welcome to my world, o-chibi," snickered the ferreted Ranger.  
Yuuno was certain his life was about to get exponentially harder with these characters around.  
"I hope you weren't wasteful, Yuuno-kun," Nanoha chided. "After all, there are starving children all over the sector that would be grateful for a giant pizza monster to eat."  
Ranger Yuuno twitched.

* * *

"Okay, looks like I've figured it out," said Chrono finally and every head looked up, expecting an answer. "Looks like our little world-hopping mirror likes to drag entities and constructs along with us. Once we go, Zedd up there gets reabsorbed into the Grid. You won't have to worry about him."  
"That sounds like good news. What's the bad news?" inquired Arf.  
"The bad news is that now due to this recalibration, I could overshoot and hit another world entirely," said Chrono, holding up an orange and a fishing net. "Try to think of this orange as our world, and several oranges are lined up along it. And then the entire sequences of worlds are covered by this fishing net. That's the Morphin Grid. According to my calculations, we shouldn't even BE on this world. It looks like it was a complete freak alignment of uncontrollable factors that sent us here. If we'd actually been aiming for here… well, let's just say Precia had a better chance of getting to Al Hazard's past 1 million years ago on half a Jewel Seed while drunk. It was a literal million-to-one chance!"  
"With that many worlds connected, I see… it would take precision and control to hit the right world, and since this is typically a magic mirror with unlimited potential…" surmised Lantern Yuuno.  
"The chance of us hitting our world is 1 to 100," finished Ranger Yuuno. "Fortunately, we can narrow it down, target centers of high levels of Grid energy. That's where usually Rangers are located."  
"Too bad it's not a million-to-one," Nanoha said. "Then it's almost a 9 in 10 chance you'll be able to get home."  
Both Yuunos stared at her. "Nanoha, how could you possibly come to that conclusion?"  
"Yuuno, ALL magical girls know million-to-one chances succeed nine times in ten," Nanaho chided him.  
"There's another thing. Each world recognizes us as a foreign entity, much like Decade. Everywhere we go, the world will respond in kind, creating enemies for us to fight," added Chrono, earning a look from his younger self. He ignored it. "Considering Decade's history with world jumping, there's a possibility that you'll have your own home-branch of Power Rangers within the year. But even if they develop, which is unlikely, they won't last long, maybe a month, since your world doesn't seem to have a Morphin Grid to support them. Though something called the Emotional Spectrum keeps popping up…"  
"Who's this Decade?" inquired Nanoha.  
"He's a guy who visited our world before, according to the Shinkengers," said Vivio, arms folded. "They're known as Kamen Riders, powerful armored beings similar to Rangers, but they usually work in groups of one or two. The possibility of Decade revisiting our world though is high."  
"Legend puts him as the Destroyer of Worlds," added Chrono, much to the horrified expressions of the assembled allies. "BUT he's not dangerous, at least to the forces of good or so far at least. From what the Shinkengers tell us, he is a powerful ally, even without zords or extra weapons. The profile on him is weak at best, but he can access the powers of ten Kamen Riders, which is why he's called Decade."  
"He has no control over where he appears though," added Vivio quickly. "So if he does appear in your world, treat him well. You can usually find him in a place that originally seems to be part of your world but is known as the Hikari Studio."  
"Wherever he goes, the prophesized Rider War will follow, and just be forewarned that the worlds will respond the same way it's responding to us, seeing us as foreign elements and will create a Kamen Rider in response," said Ranger Yuuno. "It's a nice little concept we like to call Duality. For every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction."  
"That explains something, why that villain on the moon wasn't there before," said Nanoha, rubbing her chin. "I, mean, Yuuno and I were just there a few days ago for his training." Ferret Lantern whimpered and tried to curl into a fetal ball at the memory. "And why any attempts at arresting him results in us being unable to find his moon base, even though we can SEE it."  
"Grid magic, gotta love it," snickered Vivio.  
"It is not magic, it is psycho-reactive plasmic energy," Ring-chan commented huffily.  
"Maybe we could just raze the surface of the moon…" Nanoha considered.  
"The UN will be pissed," Lantern Yuuno reminded her. "That's probably vandalism or something. Plus Eternal Sailor Moon my not appreciate you defacing her namesake. You know how Sailor Pluto gets about Pluto not being a planet any more and she's supposed to be the stoic one."  
[Ne, ne,] squeaked Sacred Heart in his child-like voice. [Vivio-han, we've got a reaction in the Grid. There's a materialization coming up shortly!]  
[Confirmed,] stated Riot 1 and Durandall grunted his agreement too. [There's going to be another manifestation of enemies.]  
"Ring-chan, can you detect anything?" said Nanoha.  
"A level of psycho-reactive plasmic-like energy is building, but I cannot confirm what it is," said Ring-chan. "It seems to similar attributes as the Ranger's energies however."  
"Grid Magic," chorused the travelers as Chrono added, "It has a very distinct level of energy. Most people who travel through worlds surf the Grid. You'd best fine-tune your Ring and when you get her back, Raging Heart, in order to detect this level of disturbance. Most of it winds up close by, and giant sized to boot."  
"It is not magic, it is psycho-reactive plasmic energy," Ring-chan said primly. "Magic garbage, I leave to the vibrating Barbie Stick of energy ejaculation."  
There was some coughing. Nanoha blinked and reached into her pockets. "I have some lozenges here somewhere…"  
"Monster of the week, gotta love it," said Ranger Yuuno, changing the subject. "You guys ready?"  
"READY!"  
"Setup Cartridge! SPD Emergency!"  
"Lightspeed Rescue!"  
In a blast of light, four Rangers emerged from the eruption of power which took out a few plants, stained the floors and blasted some pictures lopsided, not to mention left a lot of soot, in the suit vent.  
"You guys are cleaning that up," Nanoha said levelly. "Honestly, I know at least Lindy-san would be disappointed in you, Big Chrono. Magical Girl Green Lantern, Make Up!"

* * *

The monsters, already huge in nature, numbered in the several tens as they rampaged across the cityscape. "Okay, this stands to reason we really need the giant robots now."  
"We'll need more than four pilots then," said Riot 1, turning to the others. "Green Lantern-chan, how many more people can you gather with strong magic powers or strong spirits?"  
"Let me make some calls. But you know, I could just do this."  
Green Lantern raised a hand, and a giant mallet appeared. Its base was so wide volcanoes working their asses off over millions of years would have been jealous.  
BAM!  
At least five giant monsters went flat and squashy. And, somehow, the buildings around them were still intact.  
"I want one of those rings," Big Chrono moaned.  
"Sorry, it is only bestowed upon a chosen few," Green Lantern said. She raised her Ring. "Hello, Haruna-san? This is Green Lantern. I have a minor emergency that should be an adequate test of the United Magical Girls of Japan's network you've set up. Do you know anyone who might want to fight giant monsters using giant robots? Besides yourself, Haruna-san…"

* * *

"You know this is a lot more complex than I thought it would be," grumbled Little Chrono as he threw his zord, Rail Rescue 2, into a spin. "Shouldn't we form up these, what do you call them?"  
"Megazords," said Carter from Rail Rescue 1. "And no, we'll need all the firepower we can get right now. Several smaller robots do the job better for the time being. Besides, Green Lantern's friends seem to be having fun."  
"FALL! FALL BENEATH THE PEN OF THE GREAT PARU-SAMA!" Haruna cackled as her giant monsters fought Zedd's giant monsters. This while Nodoka, Yue, Asakura and Sayo helped her pilot her Gurren Lagann.  
"Does anyone else get the vibe that girl is evil in the making?" Ranger Yuuno said. People nodded. "Good, then likely someone's already keeping an eye on her."  
"Super Young Team, suspension of disbelief, on!" Most Excellent Superbat declared as he and his team ganged up on one monster.  
"Children these days!" Rising Sun said, shaking his head wryly. "Spoiled! Giant robots? Big Science Action, let's show them how it's done WITHOUT giant robots!"  
"I just have one question," Green Lantern announced, her smile probably some sort of ethics violation as she sat in the cockpit of her bigger-than-scale green Gundam, its angel wings spread to either side. "Are your shields up? Are you sure they're up? Good. Gundam Wing Zero Custom, Twin Buster Rifle FIRE!"  
A long, obscenely bright line of green tore down the battlefield, inexplicably going around buildings as it vaporized several more monsters.  
"Darn it, Green Lantern, stop making us look bad!" Vivio complained.  
"Hey, I have a reputation to maintain in my own space sector!" Nanoha said. "GAH!"  
This was to the at least three monsters that had suddenly tackled her and bought her down.  
Carter stared. "You don't think she's going to–"  
"Self-destruct system, initiate!"  
There was a big green BOOM.  
"Never mind, she is," he said. "Everyone remind me to make sure no Zord Nanoha pilots will EVER have a self-destruct, okay? She's as bad as TJ about it. Though, I have to admit that it WORKED…"  
"Awfully pragmatic for someone who is a hero of justice," remarked Fate who was piloting Rail Rescue 5 with some skill while sitting on Arf's lap so she could reach the controls.  
"I'm a military man, trained that way at least," replied Carter with a shrug. "Alright, we've whittled them down enough. Form Megazord. I'll walk you guys through the process."  
The Megazord tore through the weakened monsters, aided and abetted by the locals. In desperation, the monsters, in a fit of minor genius, decide to get creative.  
"Are they trying to combine?" Ranger Yuuno cried, staring at the mass of weakened monsters slamming together and somehow sticking. "And why is it turning white…?"  
"Vivio!" Big Chrono cried.  
"HEY, things turning into giant Stay Pufts aren't automatically my fault!" Vivio wailed.  
"We need a bigger robot," Fate said from her part of the cockpit.  
"Oh, woe is use!" Arf said. "Only some sort of Deus Ex Machina can save us now!"  
Everyone stared at her.  
"What? It's worth a shot!"  
"Arf, a Deus Ex Machina would be a million-to-one shot," Ranger Yuuno said kindly.  
"Which pop up nine times in ten," Arf pointed out. She looked out the window. "See, Green Lantern-chan seems to have thought of something."  
Indeed, the little girl was glaring up at the monster.  
"Monster-san!" she called out, voice magnified by her ring. "As a member of the Green Lantern Corps and a duly appointed freelance law-enforcement official of Japan, I ordering you to cease and desist these actions and am placing you under arrest for destruction of public property, private property, and government property; disturbing the peace; vandalism; malicious mischief; loitering; littering; and there might be other charges!"  
Monster duly considered this and flicked her, sending her slamming into the Megazord's chest.  
"Nanoha!" the pilots cried.  
Green Lantern pried herself off. "Right. My turn. Ring-chan, initiate overkill construct buffering mode!"  
The Rangers went still. "Withdraw!" Big Chrono cried as they quickly turned the megazord around and had it running in a fast clip as soon as they could. The others, confused, followed them on general principle, not wanting to be near a giant monster that made their giant robot seem regular sized anyway.  
"Why?" Fate asked, confused. "What's happening?"  
"Nanoha's about to use something she thinks is overkill!" Big Yuuno said. "Japan is doomed!"  
"Can we teleport?"  
"Not enough Grid Power gathered!"  
"GDI!"  
"I don't want to be Nanoha's collateral damage!" Vivio cried.  
Fate frowned, wondering what all the fuss was about. She turned on a rear-facing monitor. "You're all overreacting. Nanoha's just making a lot of humanoid… constructs?"  
"Million…"  
"She's starting!"  
"Nanohas…"  
"Did she just say 'Million Nanohas'?" Vivio repeated.  
"Emerald…"  
"These readings are through the roof! They're over nine–" Yuuno read, paling.  
"Let me guess, over nine thousand?" Big Chrono asked a bit sarcastically.  
"Over nine billion."  
"Starlight…"  
"Did she just say 'Starlight'?" Vivio said, paling.  
"Breaker…"  
"Crap," was the succinct summary.  
"RAIN!"  
"RAIN OF CRAP!"  
A million green Nanohas shot a million green Starlight Breakers into the giant-of-giants Stay Puft.  
Lord Zedd, watching from the moon without his funky Z-vision, casually looked their way at the worst possible moment and felt his retinas burn out.  
"Ah! My eyes!" Fate said as her monitor blew out from sheer green.  
The Rangers, saved by the fact they were looking the other way, nevertheless had to blink green spots out of their eyes. Yuuno clumsily made his way to Fate to heal her.  
"Right," Big Chrono said. "We never tell Nanoha this part when we get home. She'll get… ideas."  
"What's she doing now?" Little Chrono said.  
Vivio looked for a channel that wasn't burned out. "She's… using a giant broom to clean up the mess…"

* * *

"You managed to find someone to arrest Lord Zedd?" the Rangers boggled.  
Nanoha nodded. "It was tough, but during the battle, Ferret Lantern was able to put together a team that could break through whatever out-of-phase effect this Zedd has up. Some of Ala Alba went with him for backup. If Big Yuuno can home in on Little Yuuno, we should be able to get up there as well."  
Yuuno nodded, focusing his transport spell.  
The group soon found themselves in a medieval-looking hallway, each surrounded by a protective green aura courtesy of Nanoha. The hallway looked like the aftermath of, well, Nanoha, the walls heavily damaged with slashes, craters, scorch marks of all kinds, and liberal amounts of pointy things that were either swords or arrows, it was hard to tell which.  
"Ring-chan, area scan," Nanoha ordered.  
"Scan indicates near-Earthlike conditions within the structure," Ring-chan reported. "Atmosphere breathable."  
"But we were just here…!" Nanoha whined as she let the protective auras collapse. "It shouldn't be breathable!"  
"Ah! Green Lantern-chan!" a winged girl in a meido outfit said, dragging herself into view. "The throne room…! Zedd…! Kuro Illya!" she collapsed, obviously exhausted.  
"Set– er, Bodyguard Gar Girl!" Nanoha exclaimed, rushing towards the girl and scanning her?  
"Bodyguard GAR Girl?" Ranger Yuuno said, bemused. "As in, 'I'm Gar for–'?"  
"Yes, it's her codename," Nanoha said, looking apologetic. "Sorry, but she might not appreciate my telling just anybody what her name is."  
"Fair enough," Big Chrono said, looking amused herself. "What's wrong with her?"  
"She's completely exhausted," Nanoha said. "It looks like the symptoms of a magical energy drain."  
They found others as well. Little Yuuno, protective aura dim, a girl with a big sword Nanoha identified as Baka Red, an obviously ninja girl– Baka Blue– a dark-skinned Chinese girl– Baka Yellow– all lying unconscious and drained.  
The throne room was up ahead when they began to hear voices. They slowed.  
"Ah, my pretty, with you under my power, there is nothing that can stop me now!"  
"P-please… don't do this…"  
"Silence! Foolish being, do you really think you can overcome me? You must be punished!"  
"No, no tongue, no mpmphm…!"  
"The only ones missing are Prisma Illya, Miyu and Kuro Illya," Nanoha hissed as the sounds of a bound captive struggling were heard. Her ring projected a picture of three young girls in Magical Girl wear, though one was more risqué than the other two. They looked about Nanoha's age. The Rangers saw red.  
"ZEDD!" they cried, charging into the throne room… and stopped, aghast at what they saw.  
Goldar lay collapsed on the ground, unconscious and pinning a young girl with pale hair, who was frantically trying to push him off. Another girl in blue lay on the ground, dazed making pleased little sounds. The two other conscious people in the room were in the center, on a table that seemed ceremonial. One was tightly bound to the table in spread-eagle fashion, struggling futilely as the other bowed over them, mouth on theirs, the air warbling as energy was obviously transferred involuntarily. The one on top broke the kiss for a moment, cackling evilly, before descending once more.  
Both suddenly noticed the heroes, heads snapping in their direction.  
"Oh, thank evil!" Lord Zedd gasped as he tugged at the cords holding him in place. "Rangers! Save me from this creature!"  
Kuro Illya glared from where she was straddling Zedd, her scanty clothes making the pose worse, considering Zedd was technically naked. "Buzz off! I'll give him to you when I'm doing draining his energy!"  
Green Lantern sighed. "Kuro, we've talked about this! You can drain them in battle, but tying them up to keep doing it is called… some kind of assault. Kuro, let us take him in."  
"Kiss me, and I'll consider it," Kuro said smiling hellishly. Her tongue made illegal gestures, and the Rangers all shuddered.  
Carter looked at Zedd. "Surrender, and we will never speak of this again."  
"Done! Now save me!"  
"Judgment mode!"  
Kuro fell on the hard table as her… prisoner disappeared from under her. "AW! I was just getting in the mood!"

* * *

"I've been wondering something," said Negi, who had stubbornly followed the group in response to the call, despite his magic still not up to snuff and the fact all he had to were, courtesy of his evil, kleptomanic students, was a bright yellow sundress and a floppy hat. "Shouldn't Asuna-san negate this form of magic instead of being able to use it?"  
"The Grid is wiggy like that," said Vivio, Negi blinking at the surprise. "You see, the Grid is eternal, unending. It's less of a magical power than it is an unlimited magical power supply. That, and the energies itself are insulated by the human being, and there's a lot more metaphysical stuff involved in it, but the basic idea behind it is that it cannot be negated. Ranger powers are like valves, you turn them on and off, and the Grid is still there. That and it totally chooses the wielder."  
"I see," said Negi with a nod. "So if we could tap into the Grid, then we could use a magic that even Asuna-san couldn't negate?"  
"That's about the size of it," said Vivio. "Though I'd have to study this further, but I think we're out of time. The mirror is charged up again, and we'll have to be off."  
"Hey, I don't negate ALL magic!" Asuna said. "Else I wouldn't be able to use Kankaho, or even use my Artifact, or be affected by healing spells and that memory looky thing you did that left me naked!"  
"You left her naked?" Big Chrono said. Ranger Yuuno had to hold back his nosebleed.  
Vivio smiled, rubbed his head and added, "You're kinda cute. If you were ten years older I'd totally date you."  
Negi blushed.  
"Back off, girl," Asuna said protectively, putting a hand on Negi's shoulder. "Ala Alba was here first."  
Green Lantern stared at Vivio. "Vivio-chan!" she exclaimed. "I didn't know you liked girls! Not that there's anything wrong with that. It's cool."  
Fate, face impassive, stepped to the side to hide behind Arf. A keen listener would have heard her hissed exclamation of "YES!"

* * *

They came as quickly as they vanished, all traces of their battles following with them. For a while, peace reigned in Unimari and there wasn't anything to be said about it.  
Time passed, people prepared for another assault on their magical people. And then, something happened that they least expected.  
"Excuse me sir, but you're radiating Grid energy," said Green Lantern-chan as she and Ferret Lantern hovered overhead. "Can I ask who you are?"  
"I'm no one. Just a Kamen Rider passing through."  
Green Lantern and Ferret Lantern considered this. "Get off our planet," they chorused. "Please?"  
"I hear Apokolips is nice this time of year," Green Lantern added. Let this be Darkseid's problem. The big meanie.


	3. Ride 03: Eniac Chronicles

Ride 03

* * *

"Oh, and that was a spectacular hit from Kamen Rider Angewomon! Ladies and gentlemen, she has done it again! Kamen Rider Angewomon, an up and coming Rider, has managed to defeat yet another opponent, ending the Rider War for today!" proclaimed the announcer. "And here she comes now!"

In a flash of light, a slender woman in white and blue emerged from the mirror and waved to the crowd. A young man walked out and tossed a towel across her shoulders. "And her trainer, Taichi Yagami has decided to bring her in. Looks like today's match is over, folks. Kamen Rider Angewomon, with a stunning 12 wins and 0 losses through this Rider Season has managed to do amazing, ladies and gentlemen!"

"You did good, Hikari," said Taichi as Hikari leaned on him heavily all the way to the locker room. "Just one more and that'll make thirteen. We've got the season in the bag!"

"I know," panted Hikari as she powered down and slumped into her brother's arms, breathing heavily as he eased her to a sitting position. "You… think I really did great?"

"The best," said Taichi honestly. "You're the best Rider yet."

"Thanks, Oniichan," said Hikari as she passed out.

"Hikari…" said Taichi, sitting down and moving her head onto his lap.

"You're pushing her too hard," said Yamato from the side where he leaned on the lockers. "Taichi."

"Yamato," greeted Taichi. "She wouldn't listen. Half the time that crazy stunt she pulls is her own fault." A pause. "How's Takeru?"

"Smarting from his loss against her today," said Yamato. "But it's a bruised ego. He'll live. It's what a Rider is for isn't it? Sport? There hasn't been an actual enemy to fight in years."

An uncomfortable silence passed between them as Taichi finally broke the ice. "Hey listen, Yamato, you're not still mad are you?"

"Me? Naw, not really," said Yamato. "Granted, you won the last match we fought, but you gave me the money for Takeru's operation. And now here we are again, doing this for money."

"Money makes the world go around," sighed Taichi as Hikari slept, clinging to a pendant in her hands. "But it won't bring happiness."

* * *

"Rider Fights," said Vivio as she read the magazine that Carter had purchased.

"Take Power Rangers, put them in armored gear, and then pit them as prize fighters. Half wrestling, half prize fighting," said Carter with a touch of distaste in his tone. "It's been going for generations now. Families typically pass down the Rider powers to their children."

"Wait, kids are the fighters?" said Yuuno to Carter's nod. "That's… so wrong."

"Et tu, Yuuno Scrya?" remarked Chrono. "Remember how young we were?"

"Still though," said Vivio. "Why are they fighting?"

"Fame, glory, money, all of it," said Carter, tapping the roster of known Riders, some with big red X's across their pictures. "This girl here is in the lead, a Hikari Yagami, a.k.a. Kamen Rider Angewomon. Her brother was a top Rider Fight champ in his own day, Kamen Rider WarGreymon."

"Wait, was?" inquired Chrono.

"Seems that once a Rider hits 15, they lose the authorization to henshin for their Rider League. He could go pro in three more years, but the rules are stricter, and more confining, and much more demanding. He serves as Hikari's coach," said Carter. "Apparently, it comes with a pretty big fine."

"Sounds demanding for all the wrong reasons," said Vivio, shaking his head. "Imagine Ranger fights. Long hours and running out of the house at all given times is already demanding enough."

"What are the rules for it?" inquired Yuuno.

"Eight Riders go in, one comes out. You fight until all your opponents are defeated in the Digital World. There's a whole lot more rules, but basically the battles are fought within the world within a strict boundary. Being tossed out is an O.B., out of bounds, which causes an instant loss. More matches have been won with a final O.B.," explained Carter. "Finishing moves like a Rider Kick or whatever knock the opponent out and tamas their powers for that round."

"Who are we looking at for this next round?" inquired Vivio, suddenly interested.

"Well, it's another eight Rider fight, but looks like one of them is coming in with a handicap. The battle could go on for hours, even days until a winner is resolved." Carter looked at Vivio and scowled. "You have an idea don't you?"

"Yeah, I do. How long do you think it would take to modify my morpher…?"

* * *

"Eh? What do you mean I can't register for the Rider battles?" inquired a 10-year-old Vivio to the woman at the counter.

"Sorry, kid, but the rules state you need a official belt from the League," said the woman with a shake of her head. "It's the rules, I can't just let anyone in."

Vivio gave the Fate-woman look-alike a giant wibble. She almost crumbled. ALMOST. "Sorry! I can't do a thing, my hands are tied. Without a belt and sponsorship from a major group, you can't possibly go in!"

"Excuse me, ma'am," said a smooth voice from behind the group. "I'll sponsor her."

The woman at the counter snapped to attention. "Mr. Ichijouji, sir!"

Osamu Ichijouji smiled warmly from his seat in the wheelchair pushed by a young-looking boy with similar hair, dressed in a private school uniform. "Ken-chan was thinking about getting a partner for the doubles match he's scheduled for, but some unknown fresh blood would be good, wouldn't you agree?"

"Y-yes," said Vivio, feeling a little overwhelmed. She wanted to participate but the guy was giving her chills.

"Then it's settled," said the young man in the suit as he signed papers and said to her, "See you on the court, miss." His younger brother bowed and pushed his brother towards the lockers.

"Well," said the woman, flustered. "All seems to be in order…"

As the group walked away, Yuuno exhaled. "That guy…"

"Creep factor 12," said Chrono.

"Like being in the presence of a shark," said Carter with a scowl. "Damn, was he a predator."

"Still he was nice enough to let me enter," said Vivio.

A short bitter laugh came from the side as a girl with her arm in a sling walked up. "You were pitied," she said sadly. "No one survives a doubles match with Ken Ichijouji, not with that creep of a brother as his sponsor."

"You know about him?" asked Carter.

"Duh, Osamu Ichijouji, the former Kamen Rider Stingmon. Former until his accident, at least. He was a nice guy, so they say. And then he turned real nasty after a battle where he got an injury to the neck." The violet-haired girl sighed. "My sister, Momoe, used to fight with him. This is what I got in the last doubles match." And she wiggled her arm with a grimace.

"I'm sorry," said Vivio.

"Ah, it's okay. I wasn't doing well in the League anyhow. I'm Miyako Inoue. Kamen Rider Silphymon. Hey, Iori! Come over here, say hello!"

A shorter kid walked up, a solemn expression on his face. "Everyone, this is Kamen Rider Shakkoumon, Iori Hida. He's my doubles partner."

"How do you do," said Iori politely, noticing the devices on their bodies. "Are you all Riders?"

"Sort of, in a way," said Carter. "We're from another League, but wanted to let Vivio try."

"That creep Ichijouji signed her up as her partner for doubles," grumbled Miyako.

"That says something, considering Daisuke asked me to be his double partner since you're injured," said Iori. "Why would a creep like Osamu even allow it?"

"He likes the pain," growled Miyako.

* * *

"You understand, little brother? Eliminate those Riders and defeat the new girl."

"Yes, Oniisan."

"And stand up straight. Don't worry, we can't be stopped."

"Yes, Oniisan."

* * *

"Okay here's the list of opponents next Rider War," said Miyako, placing a sheet on the table. "First off there's the Hikari-Takeru duo, Kamen Rider Angewomon and Angemon. They're highly favored and since they do well in the grand melee, they're favored for the doubles too."

"Angewomon specializes in long-range bow attacks while Angemon has close in staff attacks," said Iori.

"The next is Iori and Daisuke, Kamen Rider Shakkoumon and Kamen Rider Paildramon. Daisuke used to be Ken's partner, before Osamu drove them apart," said Miyako.

"I specialize in sword attacks, while Daisuke has a twin cannon style. He's slower, but he can fly so he's got the edge on that," said Iori.

"Handy," said Carter. "How many doubles?"

"It's four on four, each doubles team counting as one for a grand total of eight," explained Miyako. "And this way, it keeps the Riders from turning on each other. Or so the story goes."

"The next team is from overseas. Kamen Rider Blade and Kamen Rider Thunder, from Wales actually," said Iori as he tapped a picture of a girl with her ponytails with bells and a young-looking young man. "Blade specializes in sword attacks too, but she's got a special power to negate Final Attacks. Be careful of that girl. Her partner, Lightning, has a clock up ability which allows him to move at a quarter lightspeed for a short period of time. Their names are Asuna Kagurazaka from Germany, and Negi Springfield from Wales."

"Another major team you need to worry about is the heavily favored American teams too. This one here, Kamen Rider Omni, a.k.a. Ben Tennyson. He's able to shift his form to several distinct Rider forms granting him powers. His partner varies but it's either his cousin, Gwen Tennyson, or his friend, Kevin Levin. All three of them boast considerable power and experience, as they were present for the Great Rider War," said Iori with a shake of his head.

"The Great Rider War?" inquired Yuuno. "What was that?"

"…" Iori and Miyako looked at each other and Miyako said, "It was the day all Riders of this generation got their powers. There hasn't been a Rider War Games for ages, not until the Digital World appeared."

* * *

Vivio sat at the edge of a fountain in the Rider War plaza, thinking of what the others told her.

For the longest time, there had been only Rangers. They protected the people for years, and there had been peace. But in the year 1999, a group of kids at summer camp and one teacher was sent into another reality known as the Digital World. Granted the spirits of great Digimon Heroes, they were given the power to henshin into powerful armored people.

But they weren't alone. All over the world, children looked into the sky and saw the rift, and people speculated it was the end of the world. And then, belts began to appear. Kids of all ages were drawn into what was known as the Great Rider War. The story is nearly lost to memory because memory of the great rift between worlds has been closed off save for reflective screens. These children fought and some died, and in the ensuing battles the teacher, the greatest Ranger of them all, gave his life to save the kids whom he cherished as his own.

Years later, a massive corporation approached Riders all over the world, and invited them to the stadiums being constructed. It was a Rider War in all but memory, a grand melee where no one got hurt. Some Riders refused, others leaped to the challenge and monetary prizes. For whatever reason, it was spirit vs. spirit, Rider vs. Rider, the greatest of battles continued in the vast digital landscape, now free of danger.

They called the first true life and death battles the great Rider War, and the Rangers were sent into obscurity. Even now, they are urban legend.

"Penny for your thoughts?" said a young voice as Vivio looked up at Hikari Yagami. "Hi. You're the new girl, Vivio Takamachi, right?"

Vivio nodded, her fake last name serving her well. "Yes, that's right. Oh, you're Rider Angewomon, Hikari Yagami, correct?"

"That's right." Hikari reached down and took a photograph of Vivio before giggling. "It's a habit of mine."

Sitting down, she offered her cookies from a small sack. "Here, a gift. I saw you out here and thought you could use them. You look worried."

"Thanks." Vivio took the food and bit into it. "It's good."

Hikari smiled. "So Vivio, any relation to Kamen Rider Buster? You know, Nanoha Takamachi?"

Vivio coughed. There was a Nanoha here too? "N-no, just completely coincidental," she managed.

Hikari smiled. "Don't worry, your secret is safe with me. I see you're registered in the doubles melee."

"Yes, with Ken Ichijouji as my partner," said Vivio as she fiddled with the cookie bag. "I don't know what to think about that?"

"Ken's fine, it's his brother who's a real creep," said Hikari. "He's a nice sweet guy, but totally not my type." The last was said with a giggle.

Vivio giggled as well and the girls shared a moment. "So Vivio, where are you from?"

"Um, Reefside, in the States," said Vivio. "Yuuno, Chrono and Carter are my guardians."

"I heard that place is nice," said Hikari thoughtfully. "They say a team of Rangers has appeared there."

Vivio tried not to think about that. If the greatest Ranger in the world gave his life for these kids… then her father was dead. Poor Mom, living without him. "Yeah, it's a nice place."

Hikari tapped her lip thoughtfully. "You know, we're allowed to spar. Want to give it a little go?"

"Huh?" said Vivio. "But I couldn't possibly…"

"Don't worry, we won't be facing each other in the next line up," said Hikari. "We'll be okay. Trust me."

Vivio thought about it and nodded. "Alright."

Hikari grinned and took Vivio's hand, leading her to the nearby store window. She pulled out her tag from her neck and a belt appeared. "Let's go."

Vivio nodded as she flipped the device in her hands and Hikari looked at it curiously before stating, "Henshin!" The belt appeared and she slotted it into the top of her belt. In a blast of light, a white and pink Rider was formed.

"SPD Emergency!" proclaimed Vivio as she threw forward her arm and energy rushed, forming into her white armor and spandex. Looking at Hikari, the girl seemed to be dumbstruck. "What?"

"Those are Ranger powers, not Rider powers," said Hikari accusingly. Vivio flinched. "But it's not any one I've ever seen before. It… reminds me of Sensei."

"I'm sorry, I should have said something," said Vivio. "It's hard to talk about him in the past sense."

"Did you know Sensei?" inquired Hikari as the pair headed for the window and to her surprise, Vivio passed into the Digital World as well.

"Yeah. He's my father."

BEEP. The arena around them flared to life. "Practice Round, Kamen Rider Angewomon vs. SPD Riot Ranger 05 White! Ready? Here we go!"

Hikari drew her sword and Vivio's gun snapped out, transforming into a sword as well. "You'll have to tell me all about him when we're done here," said Hikari before she lunged.

Vivio met her head-on lunge with her own parry. "Count on it."

* * *

"Sir! You called for me?"

"Indeed I did, Osamu. What do you see here?"

"I see… a Ranger fighting a Rider."

"As the prophesy foretold, the Ranger in White has arrived. The moment of reckoning is upon us."

Osamu's brow furrowed. "All that we've worked for. And you'll remove the seed when it's time?"

"Yes, don't worry. All is as according to plan." And the form pressed a button as several doors in the arena opened, revealing digimon bound with dark spirals.


	4. Ride 04: Eniac Chronicles pt2

It was a world of war, of Rider vs. Rider. Where can we find the peace we need?

This girl from another world, her eyes so full of life as she dances before me in an majestic strike art. What does she see through them?

Power Rangers Decade will now begin.

* * *

Ride 04

* * *

The first attack threw Vivio and Hikari to the ground as a Drimogimon stormed into view, followed by several other burly looking digimon. "Ow," grunted Vivio as she looked up at them and scrambled to her feet. "Monsters?"

"Digimon. But they're usually not near this part of the arenas," said Hikari, getting up as she regarded them wearily. The red glow in their eyes was definitely a telling sign that they weren't here for a party. "Duck!"

More missiles impacted as the pair threw themselves to the sides. Vivio hit the ground rolling and tabbed her belt. "V-Lancer!"

Swinging it around, she attached her gun hilt to the end and cocked the weapon. "Fire!"

"Strike Hazard," proclaimed Hikari's belt as she slotted in a card into her bow, drawing it back as she fired arrows into the crowd.

More digimon began to tromp into view, several of them firing recklessly and even hitting their companions. One of them blew Hikari off her feet and she landed at Vivio's feet.

"This is so not good," said Vivio as she blocked a shot from a Leomon which she thrust her V-Lancer through, glowing white. It exploded into data and Hikari froze at the action. "What?"

"You… just killed him," said Hikari shakily for a moment before shaking her head. "If we have to… then…"

"… Sorry, Hikari," said Vivio as she turned towards the advancing enemies, the egg floating away. _But if it means saving you… I'll become a destroyer!_

"Activating Time Burst!"

* * *

"They're killing their opponents," said the shadowed figure as he stepped forward. "Oikawa, sir?"

"Let them. In time, we'll have the data we need for our plans," said the lanky man with a pale complexion. "Mummymon, Arachnimon, go and greet the destroyer and her friend."

"Are you certain this is the destroyer, sir?" inquired Mummymon curiously.

"No doubt about it. Beware the White Ranger, for she holds in her the blood of destroyer kings." Oikawa gestured and the pair vanished from sight.

_Soon, I'll have what I want._

_

* * *

_

Vivio's arms burned and sweat poured down her forehead as she fought endlessly. The digimon kept coming and weren't slowing down, no matter how many killing blows she landed. Hikari had gotten up, and had summoned her partner with a card. Together, she and the Angel-like digimon landed a pair of explosive arrows that took out a swathe of opponents. "I'm beginning to think this is going to end badly," said Vivio.

"We're surrounded so all we can do is fight," replied Hikari. "And no one's responding to our call."

Without warning, an orange blur slammed into an advancing SkullMeramon and blew him into data as an orange rider with a dinosaur theme stood there. "Hikari, are you okay?" asked Kamen Rider War Greymon.

"Niichan! You can't be here, the rules…!" protested Hikari as another form leaped into view and cut down a few opponents with missiles.

"Yamato and I have never been good at rules," said Taichi, hefting the Dramon Destroyers on his arms as Kamen Rider MetalGarurumon nodded at him, the wolf-themed Rider grinning under his helmet. "So what if we're penalized? Better you two survive than us being forbidden to be Riders."

"And Takeru would kill me if I let you die," added Yamato as he slotted in a card with "Digital Hazard" echoing from his gun. "He hasn't asked you out yet."

Despite herself, Hikari went completely red under her helmet. "Final Hazard," was her answer as she created a massive arrow of light to try and finish off the rest of their opponents.

* * *

"Vivio! What happened?" inquired Chrono, hugging the girl who was all soot stained.

"Digimon attack," replied Taichi, folding his arms. "She and Hikari were ambushed by digimon in the Digital World. Not only that, she's got some powers I've never seen before."

"Ranger powers," said Yuuno, drawing a look from Yamato. "Yes, like the powers your sensei had."

"Vivio said Sensei was her father," said Hikari. "What's with that?"

"It's a long story," said Carter. "Let's get going before—"

"Taichi Yagami, Yamato Ishida," said a stern looking man, flanked by several members dressed in uniform. "You two are under arrest for violating the Rider Rules.'

"Wait it's a misunderstanding, they came to help us," protested Hikari. "They were the ones who saved us from the digimon attack."

"That'll be decided against the court," said the shallow-faced man. "Biggs, Wedge, cuff them."

"Don't worry," said Taichi as he held his hands out, and found them pulled behind himself. Clearly the officer on duty wasn't stupid. "We'll get this straightened out."

"Stay safe," added Yamato as he too was cuffed and his belt taken. "And tell Takeru not to worry. We'll be home soon."

Yuuno looked at the shallow-faced man who gave him a dark look before he left. "Who was that guy?" he inquired.

"Captain Oikawa, of the Rider Knights," said Hikari as her brother and best friend were led away. "He was the winner of his generation's Rider Battle."

Unseen to the group, Oikawa allowed himself a confident smirk. All according to plan…

* * *

"This is my place," said Hikari, leading Vivio into the small apartment, followed by the three men. "It's not much, but Mom's out at the moment so you can rest here."

"Well, it's not much, but it's home for now," said Yuuno with a sigh as he sat down, Sacred Heart plopping atop his face in his wont.

"It's a nice home," said Chrono, defusing the annoyed expression Hikari had. "Sorry, ferret-boy doesn't have the social graces to appreciate size."

"Hey," grumbled Yuuno as Carter sat down.

"So now what?" said Carter. "What are they going to do with Taichi and Yamato?"

"Put on trial mostly," said Hikari. "If it gets bad, we might have a Rider War to determine the result."

"Rider War?" inquired Vivio. "What's that?'

"A Rider War is the ultimate in law enforcement, or so they claim. Twelve Riders go into the Digital World and fight to the last man. The last man standing gets to pass judgment," said Hikari, amidst shocked expressions. "I know, it's barbaric, and knowing that, I'm going to have to enter as well."

"That's terrible," murmured Vivio. "I have to help."

"They won't accept that," said Hikari. "You're a Ranger and even if your powers allow passage into the Digital World, there's no way we can't do it without a Rider."

"What about any of your brother's friends?" inquired Chrono. "Can't they help?"

"No, they're still under the restriction as well," said Hikari. "Darnit… if only we could get a Rider over the age bracket, then we'd stand a chance."

"Riders are very special, aren't they?" inquired Yuuno. "I know they exist beside Rangers but…"

"It's because they're so rare, that they're precious," sighed Hikari. "If only we could get a Rider that would be over 16… then they could enter the higher up battles."

"There… is one Rider," said a voice from the door as they turned around to see Hikari's friend, Takeru. "Jyou Kido, Kamen Rider Zudomon."

"Zudomon," murmured Hikari as Chrono asked who he was. "Zudomon was a good friend, well, is a good friend of my brother. He's about two years older than the rest of them, but he never took the Rider Certification, preferring to become a doctor instead of a Rider."

"And he's well within the age bracket," said Takeru. "I heard from dad that Oniisan was arrested. Right now Jyou's our only shot."

"I guess that settles it," said Chrono with a nod. "With the four of us using Ranger powers, we're not eligible even though we're over the age bracket."

"Yeah. The real challenge however is persuading him," said Takeru.

* * *

"No." said Jyou, rolling across the room and picking up a medical textbook.

"Jyou, be reasonable," said Hikari as she, Takeru and Vivio stood there, the others hanging behind the door. "Oniichan has been arrested and you KNOW they're going to Rider War. And knowing the process, we'll be having every Rider that has a grudge against them and eligible for the bracket after a guilty sentence."

"She has a point," said Vivio. "Why can't you just help us?"

"Because I never got my Rider Certificate," replied Jyou calmly. "I've hung up the Zudo Deck long ago."

"Is that why it's on your desk?" interjected Takeru, drawing looks at the Hazard Deck on his table. "Jyou. You're Yamato and Taichi's only hope. No one else is available and we need to stack this in our favor. Please."

Jyou sighed. "Look, I really want to help, but there's no way I can take the certificate in time."

"That's where I come in," said Koushiro who stood at the door, a smirk on his face. "Hey, Jyou, been a while."

"Kou," Jyou sighed, rubbing his forehead. "So they got you too huh?"

"Taichi and Yamato are in trouble. We might be separated now but it's up to us as Riders to do the things sensei taught us to do," said Kou. "I've hacked into the system, and set up a paper trail. You've got your certificate. All you need to do now is sign."

Jyou looked at the electronic pad and at the others. "…Fine. But you guys owe me big. I've got a test tomorrow."

And he picked up the pen and signed, sealing it as a voice proclaimed, "Hazard Deck Authorized," from his Hazard Deck.

* * *

The buzzer sounded and Riders leaped into the digital world. Most of them were nameless Riders out to make a name of themselves, others were big name members.

The first one to fall was Kamen Rider Aqua as without warning, the sound of "Final Hazard" was heard and he was taken out with a single kick, knocked clean out of bounds. A big X appeared on his image as the Rider was dragged off the field by medics.

"That was quick," said Carter, noting the straight flight into the finishing move. "First strike within five minutes."

"It'll go like that, weeding out the weaker Riders until we manage to narrow it down to Jyou and the seed," replied Koushiro, biting his thumb a little as he watched Kamen Rider Zudomon sneak around.

"This is bad though," said Hikari as another fell. "Jyou hasn't been an active Rider for a while. Who knows what could happen to him?"

"Better than the alternative. Lately I've been hearing a disturbing rumor that lately people have been disappearing," said Takeru. "I haven't gotten any proof other than a few random snippets I heard in the changing room."

"You think the arrest is related?" inquired Hikari. "Why?"

"Kamen Rider War Greymon and Metal Garurumon are two of the most decorated Riders of our generation," replied Takeru. "Think about it. If they're committed to serve, they'll have to follow orders."

"I get it," said Yuuno. "Whoever can put pressure on those two, will control the next generation of Rider Wars."

"And not only that, create problems in the long run with the way a Rider War is performed," surmised Carter. "This is not looking good."

Vivio nodded as she turned back to the screen – and a flicker of movement in there caught her eye. "What's that?"

* * *

Zudomon leaned against the wall, catching his breath when suddenly, the world rippled around him. For a moment it seemed like reality was turning inside out when suddenly, a girl stepped through it, amidst the exclamations of the crowd. "I finally made it," said Einhart.

"Are you… a Rider?" inquired Zudomon breathlessly.

Einhart looked at him and nodded. "For the most part."

"An unauthorized Rider in an official Rider War," said a woman who stepped forward, accompanied by a lanky looking man. "My, my, I didn't think something like this would happen."

"Tch," groaned Zudomon. "Arukenimon and Mummymon, I presume?"

"Oh, you know of us," said the pair, their forms shimmering to reveal armor; one red and spider-webbed with spires like arms jutting from her back. The other with wrapped bandages and a large rifle making up his armor. "I didn't think you kept up with the times, Zudomon."

"What's going on here?" said Einhart softly.

"We're trying to win," said Zudomon in reply, figuring since the other Rider hadn't tried to kill him yet, they were allies. "Otherwise Taichi and the others might be convicted."

Einhart nodded as she held up a mirror and Arukenimon stepped back. "That mirror!"

"Henshin," proclaimed Einhart as she captured her image in it and a belt materialized.

[Kamen Ride,] proclaimed her belt as she slotted it in and the mirror flipped around to reveal SPD written on the front. In a blast of three silhouettes slamming together, a black Rider with a golden crown formed. [Saint King!]

Drawing her sword, she drew her fingers across the blade with a loud shing noise as she crouched, drawing her weapon back and taking a pose. Somewhere Momotaros realized he was being ripped off.

"Ore sanjou!"

The expected taunt had the desired effect as the pair of monstrous looking riders charged forward with a howl.

* * *

"A black Rider now," said Oikawa as he stepped forward, picking up the deck at his side. To the sides, an exhausted looking Taichi and Yamato were slumped against the wall, their powers drained. "I suppose I should step in now, seeing how we need to drag out the White Ranger."

Taichi groaned as he looked up at his friend. "Yamato… ya dead?"

"…No man, I ain't dead," managed Yamato. "I feel like crap though."

"Same," coughed Taichi. "That freak drained a lot of our powers. Damn, we should have realized something like this would happen."

"He's back," agreed Yamato as he worked on their bonds, trying to free themselves. "If I can just get the cuff off."

"Do it. We're going to need to help the others."

* * *

When Einhart had appeared, Vivio was in motion, running down the stairs as Sacred Heart flew to her Morpher. "This has just gone from bad to worse," said Yuuno, flipping Riot 01 into his hands, Carter and Chrono taking up the rear.

"It always is," replied Chrono. "Let's go!"

In a chorus of transformation phrases, the four charged headlong into the shimmering wall of energy and passed through, only to be met by several dozen digimon with glowing eyes. "Welcome wagon," said Vivio needlessly as she drew her V-Lancer.

"Final Hazard," rang out two voices as an arrow slammed into the crowd, followed by a giant beam of energy. "Don't forget about us," said Angewomon as she and Angemon grinned.

"Vivio, get going. I know you recognized that woman," said Takeru. "We'll cover you."

"Right. C'mon Yuuno."

* * *

"Attack Hazard," boomed Zudomon's hammer as he hurled it at the pair, the two Riders dodging to either side as Saint King charged in as she captured Mummymon in the mirror in the hilt of her weapon.

"Attack Hazard," proclaimed a card as Mummymon lifted his weapon and fired, echoed by Einhart's belt stating, [Attack Ride: Obelisk!] Twin blasts of energy crashed together as Arachnimon dodged to the side on the return trip of Zudomon's hammer.

"We're evenly matched," said Arachnimon as she sneered at the pair. "The girl can only copy attacks and Zudomon's out of shape."

"Not for long," replied Zudomon, catching his hammer and slotting in a card. "Strike Hazard."

"You're not bad," remarked Mummymon as he lashed out bandages, successfully capturing Saint King's arm in the mess of them. "But I'm better."

"Not really," replied Saint King as she spun the mirror in the belt again. "This just leaves you wide open."

[Final Attack Ride: Saint King!]

Reflective mirrors spun and penned in Mummymon as she dashed into one and vanished. Without warning, attacks hammered down on him from all sides as Saint King flew out of a mirror high above in a perfectly executed Rider Kick, smashing into Mummymon with considerable force.

With a cry, Mummymon was blasted backwards in a fountain of erupting energy and exploded, his data fountaining into the air. "Mummymon!" exclaimed Arachnimon in shock. "You killed him!"

"He'll be okay, once he regenerates," remarked Saint King as she drew her fingers across the blade and shouldered it. "Besides, isn't that the point of the Rider Battle?"

"You…!" Arachnimon trembled as her body changed, becoming more like a spider-woman than before with a bulbous body and humanoid torso.

"So it was rigged," said Zudomon as he clutched his hammer protectively.

"Einhart!" cried out Vivio, running up to her.

"Vivio, you're safe," said Saint King in relief. "Everyone!"

"Looks like the gang's all here," said Chrono. "Come to take us back home?"

"Yeah," replied Saint King. "But first let's finish this."

Just then, the sound of clapping interrupted the group as Oikawa stepped into view behind a pile of rubble. "How interesting that the destroyer finally arrives, and with another Rider to boot. Tell me Saint Kaiser, do you feel good about destroying this world?"

"Destroy? What do you mean?" inquired Vivio.

"You prompted the arrival of forces beyond your control," explained Oikawa, his expression turning demented. "You and your ilk are dangerous; Rangers from another world, sent to destroy ours! I won't have this, to build a world where no one will lose anything ever again!"

"Destroyer of Worlds, the Saint Kaiser herself, Vivio Hart!" roared Oikawa as he held up a Hazard Deck as a belt appeared. "I won't have this. Hen… shin!"

The resulting hurricane of power knocked everyone off their feet as Oikawa rose into the air, laughing maniacally as his body underwent a transformation, armor forming at first but growing taller and taller until he towered over them, a knight in black armor with a Metal Garurumon on one arm and a War Greymon on the other.

"Oh crap," remarked Carter. "Zord time."

"I won't give you the chance!" exclaimed Omegamon as he slammed his sword down, cleaving the ground. "Arise, warriors!"

From the earth, black skinned digimon appeared as they locked red glares on everyone.

"Spread out," commanded Chrono as he lifted Durandall and ice sheeted over the battlefield.

* * *

It was chaos in the digital world as the Rider War had literally gone to war. Digimon died under the attacks as the Riders and Rangers crashed into each other. Omegamon laughed as he held up his hand. "Such power," he sneered. "Enough to make my dream come true!"

Just then, a blast of holy energy slammed into him as the two angelic Riders appeared, holding their weapons out offensively. "We won't let you get that chance," growled Takeru. "Give my brother's powers back!"

"They are mine!" roared Omegamon as he aimed a cannon blast which tore across the battlefield, narrowly missing the pair. "I need them, they are the key to this world's survival!"

"It's not worth it!" retorted Angewomon as she ducked a slash of the sword. "You're going to just corrupt them!"

"I don't care! To see him again… to be his friend, to tell him I'm sorry…!" Oikawa swiped again at the pair but a giant hand caught the blade. "What?"

"Sorry," said Vivio from the cockpit of the Megazord. "But dreams don't come true that easily." And she delivered a massive blow to the side of Omegamon's head. "I don't care if I'm this destroyer of worlds, or anything else. I know how it can be to nearly lose someone you care about." A brief flicker of memory shot through her mind as she remembered the accident that nearly crippled Nanoha. "But I will fight, to save my world and yours!"

"Fool!" retorted the giant Rider as he shot a blast of energy that shoved the Megazord backwards. "How can you tell what I feel? Since I lost him… all had been for naught!"

"Then I'll have to make you listen! Sacred Heart, arm the sword!"

Sacred Heart beeped as he interfaced with the Megazord and the blade appeared, igniting into fire. Grasping it with both hands, the Megazord lurched forward, swinging as it met with Omegamon's sword.

* * *

"Made it!" exclaimed Taichi, exhaling sharply as he and Yamato stumbled out of the building in the middle of a firefight. "Whoa…"

Yamato shook his deck and growled. "It's out of juice. I can't henshin!"

"Bastard stole our powers," said Taichi as he watched the zord battle. "What now?"

"Taichi-sempai!" called out Daisuke as he, Miyako, Iori and Ken ran up, a scowling Osamu behind them. "The Rider War, it's going to hell out here!"

"Tell me something I don't know," said Taichi with a shake of his head. He looked up and frowned at Osamu. "Ichijouji."

"Yagami," replied Osamu icily. "Still getting into trouble I see."

"Hey now, you two, this is no time to be arguing," said Yamato. "Osamu, you knew didn't you?"

"Of course I knew," said Osamu, his scowl softening a little. "A while back, Oikawa approached me with some kind of resurrection plot. I thought little of it at first, but he seemed to be talking to himself once in a while. I realized then that something malevolent was inside him."

"And that's why you kept weeding out Riders? To go along with this plot?" inquired Ken. "Niisan…"

"It was the only way. We had to trim the ranks a little, myself and Gennai who was helping to orchestrate the counter attack," said Osamu. "I'm sorry for being needlessly cruel little brother."

Ken nodded as Miyako frowned. "You didn't have to go so hard," she said, indicating her arm in the sling.

"Sorry, but it had to look real," said Osamu as he pulled out a deck. "I think it's time we got to business. There's a lot of angry digimon, and pretty soon everything'll break into the real world."

"Right," said Daisuke. "Let's do this people!"

"Henshin!" chorused the group as they slid their decks in.

* * *

Energy slammed against Yuuno's barrier. It shuddered but held. "This is getting ridiculous," he said. "They're still coming!"

Shots rang out as the digimon exploded into pieces as Paildramon soared out of the sky, followed by Shakkoumon, Silphymon and Stingmon and one last Rider followed by Taichi and Yamato in the rear. "We've come to save the day!" exclaimed Paildramon confidently.

"Good 'cause we could use the help," remarked Carter, the red Ranger shooting things left and right. "Who're you?"

Osamu saluted jauntily. "Kamen Rider Alphamon, at your service."

"Alpha and Omega, why am I not surprised?" remarked Chrono. "Alright, let's clear out these guys!"

* * *

High above, Vivio grimaced as Omegamon didn't let up for a second. "And you think, that by killing everyone you'll bring your friend back?"

"It's my only wish, my one desire!" exclaimed Omegamon as he fired another blast which the Megazord deflected, sending it spiraling into the ocean. "You don't understand!"

"No I don't, but this isn't the time for that! People are hurting because of what you did! People laugh, they cry, and yet in the end there is nothing else you can do them because you are just a person yourself! So you laugh and cry and live with them!" retorted Vivio.

Omegamon growled as it thrust its sword forward, cutting into the Megazord's functions as Vivio grimaced, the zord rocking violently under her. "Don't try to lecture me!"

"That's just it, you won't listen," said Vivio as she gripped the controls and caught the cannon, pushing it to the side as it fired, the bolt screaming by the head of the giant robot. "I will have to make you listen to my words then!"

Suddenly, three separate glows of light converged upon Vivio as they slammed into her—a soft pink, an emerald green and a purple light. Sliding into her chest, she gasped as she suddenly knew what to do.

"Mode shift," intoned Vivio as the chestplate of the Megazord opened up as a cannon telescoped out of it. Energy gathered and Omegamon tried to wrestle free.

"What are you doing?" demanded Omegamon.

"If you won't listen… I will make you listen with all my power! STARLIGHT BREAKER!"

The world turned pink and white.

* * *

The Rider War was over, and Taichi and Yamato's powers returned to them in a flash. And there, Oikawa lay, battered and beaten as Vivio knelt by him. "I'm sorry," he intoned. "I'm sorry… Hiroki… for what I've done…"

"You did what you wanted to do, and maybe that wish will be granted," said Vivio as the others ran up to where they were sitting.

"Perhaps…" coughed Oikawa. "But there is something else… a terrible power is waking up. Tell the others, I am sorry…"

Oikawa exhaled, and in a gust of wind, vanished into energy.

* * *

Vivio sat at the park, holding Sacred Heart who was looking back at her in his bunny-like way. "Is it okay, that I feel hollow from that victory, Sacred Heart?"

"Vivio…" Einhart stepped into view as she sat down next to her. "I'm sorry."

"For what?" Vivio asked.

"For not being able to help," said Einhart. "We have to go. With the Rider War in chaos, all we can do is leave."

Vivio nodded as she got up and turned to see Hikari standing there. "Hikari…"

"Here," said Hikari, holding out a few fragments of some kind of crystal. "I found these after the battle."

Vivio took them and looked at it. "Grid Crystals," she said. "That makes… almost ten in all now."

"I hope you find your way home," said Hikari. "And Vivio? You're not a destroyer. In fact, you saved us from a potentially bad situation."

"It doesn't feel like a victory," said Vivio before Hikari hugged her and gave her a kiss. Vivio blushed. "W-what was that for?"

"The hero gets a kiss," said Hikari simply and Einhart giggled at that.

"C'mon, the others are on the other world now," said Einhart as she held up the Ride Mirror. "Time to go."

Vivio nodded as she let go of Hikari. "Be good to your brother and Takeru okay?"

And with that, they were gone.


End file.
